Victim

Starring:Tony Leung Ka Fai, Ching Wan Lau, Amy Kwok, Emily Kwan, Joe Lee (IV), Wai-sheung Lee, Yiu-Cheung Lai, Collin Chou, King-fai Chung, Alannah Ong, Suki Kwan, Shiu Hung Hui
Director: Ringo Lam
Studio: Tai Seng
Product Type: DVD

I Spit On Your Grave (Millennium Edition)

Average customer rating:

It didnt suprise me
Classic Nastie!
NOT AS BAD AS WHAT EVERYONE SAYS !!!!!
Horrible
one of the best

I Spit On Your Grave (Millennium Edition)
Starring: Camille Keaton , Eron Tabor , Richard Pace , Anthony Nichols , and Gunter Kleemann
Director: Meir Zarchi
Manufacturer: ELITE ENTERTAINMENT
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002CHIJW
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Customer Reviews:

It didnt suprise me.......2007-06-19

I was afraid to watch this one for a long time considering what i heard of it. The plot is simple, some writer lady goes to the country and ends up being raped and assaulted by 4 ignorant backwoods types then one when one of them dosent go through with the job of 'taking care of her' she comes back for revenge. It was sick, yes, It was you can say brutal in a way, but i can see something like this happening. I mean it didnt shock me considering ive actually met people like this that were maybe a couple inches away from doin something like that. Theres 2 types of people, normal good people and people that are a couple inches away from doing something sick like this. A bunch of guys gettin together, real ignorant types and then pullin something like this, yea, i can see it. The stupidity of one of them made me sick. He was like just doing whatever he was told. Then came 'the revenge'. Plain and simple, not much else. I cant say i could see someone really 'enjoying' watching this but i cant say it was so bad i wouldnt tell you not to see it. I dont think a normal person would have much interest in this one. People who love horror? maybe. Its a hit or miss.

Classic Nastie!.......2007-05-02

"Spit" is one of my all time favourite little "nasties".
It's sick alright and still very disturbing, even though it was made way back in 1978. Ok, it's low, low budget, but that's why it works.
The film's lack of music throughout makes it all the more off putting.
Camille Keaton, as the victim, is an absolute trouper.
Rodney, is Gold.

This Millennium Edition of "Spit" is something my brother and I used to joke about. Ever since we first caught "Spit" at the Drive In on it's original release, the idea of a special edition of "Spit" was something we only ever dreamt of one day owning.
To have it like this, THX Certified Transfer, Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1, looking and sounding like it was made yesterday, with extras laid on, you've got to be kidding.
And that cover ain't half bad either....hey?

Warning:Definately not for the kiddies.

NOT AS BAD AS WHAT EVERYONE SAYS !!!!!.......2007-03-30

I bought this movie because I was intrigued by it. The cinematography is incredible. Visually, it is stunning. The rape scenes ARE savage, but I was touched by the emotional devastation the actress was able to convey. As a woman I was rooting for the heroine and I must admit I was a little disappointed in the ease with which she dispatched three of her assailants. Her revenge on Matthew was "OK" but I would have liked to have seen a little blood and gore. When I first saw the bathtub scene between the heroine and Johnny I was a little nauseated by all the blood but I couldn't help but laugh at the way she dispatched him. I watched the movie again and I thought it would have been even more visually effective if after the slice and dice she would have raised her hand from out of the bath water holding a semblance of bloody genitalia in her hand. But this movie was made in a decade that never would have allowed that. The heroine's numb composure throughout the revenge sequences is fully understandable (that is, if you're a woman). Kudos to Ms. Keaton for a very persuasive acting job.

Horrible.......2007-03-14

Maybe the WORST movie ever made, or at least the worst that I have seen. Don't waste you're money or time.

one of the best.......2007-02-26

This movie is great. Artistic in a sick way. Sort of has a feminist flavor too it, but in a cool way. Definently a morality message underneath. also, Theres a classic scene that will traumatize any man who watches this film.

Average customer rating:

Solid revenge Western
McQueen is fun to watch
A respectable entry in the annals of the best Westerns!
Why McQueen Was A Star
A very good western and great entertainment

Nevada Smith
Starring: Steve McQueen , Karl Malden , Brian Keith , Arthur Kennedy , and Suzanne Pleshette
Director: Henry Hathaway
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Sand Pebbles

ASIN: B00008CMR3
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Amazon.com

The Max Sand backstory in Harold Robbins's trashy The Carpetbaggers (an enjoyable wallow onscreen in 1964) made for a solid Western vehicle for Steve McQueen at his peak. Nevada Smith is a revenge movie, but closer in spirit to The Bravados than a Death Wish-style exercise in nihilism. Young Max, offspring of a white father and Indian mother, sets out to avenge their slaughter by three villains. His odyssey includes spiritual re-parenting at several stages, most notably by canny gun dealer Jonas Cord (a swell character part for Brian Keith). The supporting cast will have you saying, "He's in it, too!" at regular intervals (from costars Karl Malden and Arthur Kennedy down to such incidental interlopers as L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin). Since director Henry Hathaway and cameraman Lucien Ballard couldn't frame a bad shot if their lives depended on it, it's a relief that this movie is finally available in a widescreen format. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

Solid revenge Western.......2007-05-06

Despite being curiously banned from British TV screens for many years in the wake of the entirely unconnected Hungerford massacre, Nevada Smith is a solid and petty lavishly mounted revenge western culled from the backstory of Alan Ladd's ageing cowboy star in The Carpetbaggers. With Steve McQueen heading an impressive cast (Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy, Martin Landau, Brian Keith, Suzanne Pleshette, Janet Margolin, etc) you could almost see it as a last-gasp attempt to be the classic American Western as its narrative sends its hero from Texas to California via a chain gang in the Louisiana bayous. It could have been tighter and you have to question how merciful his final act is after putting that many holes in someone, but its an entertaining ride and the eternally under-appreciated Henry Hathaway makes it look particularly great in Scope. No extras, but at least the 2.35:1 widescreen transfer is good.

McQueen is fun to watch.......2006-12-09

McQueen is definately cool. His character is supposed to be a half-breed, white and Kiowa, and in his late teens. McQueen doesn't look the part at all, but I was able to ignore that. Karl Mauldin is just way too much like a New England school marm to make a good outlaw. Too much was made of Max's Indian ancestry contributing to his success. It reminds me of "Billy Jack." The obvious question is: if indians are so invincible,...? But I was entertained with the adventure of a "boy" tracking down 3 men who killed his parents.

A respectable entry in the annals of the best Westerns!.......2006-11-08

Henry Hathaway was a versatile director whose Westerns have been as variable in quality as his other films...

Hathaway's best Westerns have all come in the fifties, beginning with the very credible 'Rawhide,' with Tyrone Power, and continuing with 'Garden of Evil,' the highly enjoyable burlesque 'North to Alaska,' most of 'How the West Was Won,' 'The Sons of Katie Elder,' 'Five Card Stud,' and 'True Grit.'

Hathaway's strong points are atmosphere, character and authentic locations... The little known 'From Hell to Texas' is quoted by those who have seen it as Hathaway's best Western on these three counts, a film directed with profound feeling for the deliberate pace and loneliness of the real West...

'Nevada Smith' is actually a strong and revealing study of the regeneration of one man... The film makes an excellent double bill with Marlon Brando's sole effort as director, 'One-Eyed Jacks.'

'Nevada Smith' is an exciting premise, taught and tight... It is not a motion picture to dismiss or forget... It is one of the first films to apply the contemporary standards of sex and violence to an Old West setting... The film is based on a story by John Michael Hayes, two-time Academy Award nominated screenwriter for 'Rear Window,' and 'Peyton Place.'

The film lingers in the mind because of its visual beauty and the intensity of some of its scenes, particularly between McQueen and Malden, two knowing actors playing together with the skill of champion chess players...

Hathaway sets up his atmosphere of dramatic tension right at the start... With a horse, a rifle, and 8 dollars, McQueen is a half-white teen-aged whose only desire is to hunt down his parents vicious killers... All helpless, he vows to dispatch the three 'bravados' one by one... He even gets himself thrown into prison just to gun one of them down...

With the help of a gun merchant (Brian Keith), McQueen learns how to shoot a gun and sets out the chase where the money is... He rides off alone, blinded by a compulsion that obscures his other motive for living: 'I don't see nothing, except my father laying on a covered-floor all burnt and cut with the top of his head blown to pieces, and my mother split up in the middle and every square inch of her skin ripped off.'

Steve McQueen recreates the type of role he had played in 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.' He is effective in his hesitant, self-conscious way, eager to be a firm gunfighter and almost as inept... He has little more sense of character than Ladd in Edward Dmytryk's 'The Carpetbaggers' but has a tension which made the film interesting to watch...

Brian Keith is excellent as the father figure who adopts McQueen... He is sincere in warning the young avenger that in order to catch and kill these men, he will have to comb out every saloon, gambling hall, hog farm and whorehouse, and become just as despicable as they are... Keith comes out a star with his quiet, sure, graceful underplaying... As he instructs McQueen, it was clear that he knows not only his guns but human nature..

Suzanne Pleshette, standing knee deep in water, is the pretty girl, able to escape from the terrors of her environment into the poetry of her reveries... Both a sinner and a saint, Pilar adds humanity to Max world...

With a knife in his hand, and a scar on his neck, Martin Landau is the psychotic womanizer, a morose, evil character, caught in Abelene dealing cards in a saloon...

Arthur Kennedy - friendly, smiling, charming and smooth-talking on the surface, weak and corrupt underneath - is the frightened villain swamped by a storm of revenge...

Karl Malden is the cynical badman who depreciates his gold before his executioner...

Raf Vallone is the good priest who wants his young avenging hunter to take a deep look into his heart...

Pat Hingle is the prisoner in custody with gun and whip, who takes great pleasure and delight in breaking his companions by beating them up...

Howard da Silva is the ruthless warden who assures his prisoners that the swamp is their wall... Miles and miles of it, filled of dirty water, quicksand, razorbacks, poison snakes, mosquitoes and malaria...

Janet Margolin is the dance hall girl uncertain of the identity of one of the dangerous murderers...

Joanna Cook Moore is the grateful saloon girl who offers herself to Max...

Rick Roman is Cipriano, the bandit who warns seriously his companion not to harm Father Zaccardi...

Ted de Corsia is the bartender who wants the two contenders to calm down in order to find out the truth..

The expertise before the cameras and behind it, plus McQueen's dynamic presence, makes 'Nevada Smith' a respectable entry in the annals of the best Westerns...

Why McQueen Was A Star.......2006-06-27

Nevada Smith was made at the heights of McQueen's short, but terrific career. This film, along with Love With The Proper Stranger, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Cincinnati Kid and Bullitt, proves just why McQueen was a star.

Although the film is your average revenge-story, McQueen's performance along with Karl Malden, Martin Landau, Brian Keith and Susanne Pleshette, make it worth watching. McQueen stars as a young man (the script mentions that he's a boy and half-Indian, but so what?)who witnesess his parents' murder at the hands of Karl Malden's blood-thirsty gang. From there he goes on a year's long quest to hunt down each and every one of the killers, until his parents' death is avenged. He even goes so far as to land himself in a Louisianan chain gang to get one of them. What makes this movie stand out from other films in this genre, is McQueen's maturation during this process. He goes from young boy, to seasoned, cool killer by the time he reaches Karl Malden. McQueen, known for extensively underplaying a scene, gives away all kinds of subtlelties that most people missed (indeed this is why some in Hollywood didn't consider him a good actor), but that upon closer inspection one would see that he's "in character" every step of the way. The scene when he's in the swamp with one of his parents' killers and Susann Pleshette is chilling, because you see all of his rage at finally finding this man and exacting his revenge. What is more poignant is when he, at long last, has Karl Malden, and instead of killing him, leaves him there to die. You see in McQueen's eyes all of the pain, and sorrow, at his parents' loss, but you also see the pity that he has for this weak, pathetic man who is nothing without a gun on his belt. McQueen simply looks at the man, shrugs and walks away. In the hands of another actor this scene would've been overplayed to the point of melodrama, but McQueen said everything that needed to be said in a few simple gestures. That's what makes a star.

A very good western and great entertainment.......2006-05-12

I love this movie for it's "revenge" story line, the good action, terrific acting, and beautiful scenery. I've actually been to a few of the exact locations where the movie was filmed, along the Eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada range in CA., which gives me some nostalgic memories whenever I watch the movie.
I especially like the part where Brian Keith befriends Max Sand (McQueen) and shows him how to shoot. The dialog between the two is classic: McQueen>> "I'm half white". Keith>> "And you're all helpless". What is kind of strange is that McQueen is probably at least 35 years old in this movie. Yet, he's referred to as "just a kid". Karl Malden plays a terrific heavy. And he gets what he deserves. I imagine he had a tough time crawling out of Hot Creek after Max shot him in the knee caps. OUCH!
The only part of this movie I didn't care for was when Max Sand was sent to the bayou prison. This whole section of the movie was just a little too long and a little too slow for me. But, in spite of my thoughts on the bayou section, this is a terrific movie. The scenery is beautiful, the characters are interesting, the action is lively, and the story will keep your interest. Nevada Smith takes you on an adventure full of action and suspense. I've watched it probably 6 or 8 times over the years, and it's still fun to watch.

Average customer rating:

Not all that bad, actually...
great comedy
Good son, bad son.
Crime Solving Cowboys In the Big City...What A Concept!
Can I give it 6 Stars?

The Cowboy Way
Starring: Woody Harrelson , Kiefer Sutherland , Dylan McDermott , Ernie Hudson , and Cara Buono
Director: Gregg Champion
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 0783229631
Release Date: 1998-11-17

Amazon.com

Somebody in Hollywood thought there was some fish-out-of-water potential in this teaming of wild man Woody Harrelson and slow-burning Kiefer Sutherland as a pair of New Mexico cowboys who go to New York to tame the wild, wild, uh ... East. Well, they were mistaken, because this 1994 action-comedy is little more than a tiresome reworking of Crocodile Dundee. Woody and Kiefer head for the Big Apple to rescue the illegal-immigrant daughter of one of their rodeo buddies (who has mysteriously disappeared), and what they discover is a sweatshop operation run by a hot-tempered thug (Dylan McDermott, before his role on TV's The Practice). That's when the boys start using their ropin' and shootin' skills to foil the bad guys. One measure of this film's credibility is the inevitable scene of the boys riding on horseback through the gridlocked streets of Manhattan. Uh huh. You know how it goes... you just have to go with it or marvel at the sheer stupidity of it all. Of course, forget all the sniping if you're a fan of Harrelson or Sutherland--they're both doing their best under the burden of disadvantage. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Not all that bad, actually..........2007-05-01

Professional reviewers have savaged this movie, but I think their attitude is a bit harsh.

Yes, the plot has been done before. Yes, the humor is a bit forced in spots. Yes, there is a cringe-worthy torture scene involving a calf. Yes, the villain is a one-dimensional cardboard character.

But, the world will never tire of "buddy" movies, or fish-out-of-water plots. Screwball redneck humor isn't going anywhere either. And if we must have a one-dimensional villain, at least he's dreamy Dylan McDermott.

"The Cowboy Way" won't win any Oscars, but it doesn't aspire to; it was meant as light entertainment, and it *is* surprisingly entertaining.

Woody Harrelson is "Pepper", the comic half of the duo, and he has a certain brash charm which actually is amusing to watch. Kiefer Sutherland plays "Sonny", the deadpan half of the pair, and his serious nature is an effective foil to Harrelson's excesses. Their characters are believable, even if the plot strains credibility at times. Sutherland has a memorable moment during a scene that takes place in a morgue after the death of a minor character; the simple grace and dignity of his farewell gesture reveal he has inherited at least some of the great subtlety and power of his father, the magnificent actor Donald Sutherland.

Their adventures in New York, searching for a lost friend and attempting to rescue a kidnapped daughter from slavery, take a few detours along the way. The pair quarrel, seperate, and Pepper meets some interesting New Yorkers while Sonny gets in serious trouble, but they reunite just in time to kick some bad guy butt with the help of some of New York's finest.

The bad guy is dispensed with in a rather creative, if cruel fashion, romance blossoms between Sonny and the female lead and they all drive off into the sunset in their pickup truck.

I'm neither a big fan of things cowboy, nor particularly of any of the actors involved, and from the reviews I was not expecting much of this movie, but it was worth a few chuckles. I can think of worse ways of spending an afternoon than watching this. I gave it four stars partly to make up for the harsh reviews it has gotten from others though I think it really deserves three. If you are sick of overhyped, straining-for-Oscar movies and want a mildly enjoyable, unpretentious bit of entertainment, this little sleeper may be perfect for you.

great comedy.......2006-08-12

its very funny, a great comedy with a decent story line.... if you like cowboy humor this is a great video to check out!

Good son, bad son........2006-08-04

Not the greatest rodeo movie ever made but by no means the worst.
Tends to drag on a little but overall is worth the effort. Some of the casting is strange mainly because there is no chemistry between the characters, but the storyline is above average and Keifer Sutherland does enough to carry the rest over the line.

Crime Solving Cowboys In the Big City...What A Concept!.......2006-06-12

I guess it's still true (to some degree anyway) that being a MOVIE STAR has more, uh, cachet to it than being a TV actor. But sometimes you have to wonder why. Watching this mediocre-at-best 1994 effort featuring former TV star Woody Harrelson, future TV leads Kiefer Sutherland and Dylan McDermott, you just might wonder why that's the case. These actors can all be justifiably proud of their work on (respectively) CHEERS, 24, and THE PRACTICE. I can't imagine that they bring up this film much in conversation as being one of the highlights of their careers.

Which is not to say that they don't all give it their best shot. As our cowboys-loosed-in-the-Big-Apple heroes, Sutherland and Harrelson are affable enough. And it's interesting to see McDermott take on a menacing villain's role. But otherwise, this movie is pretty predictable "fish out of water" fare. And speaking of TV shows, didn't Dennis Weaver pretty much mine all the possibilities of out of that particular plotline decades ago on McCLOUD?

Of course, McCloud never resorted to such grotesqueries as we witness in the "hungry calf" scene. Even in the new millennium, television seldom stoops quite THAT low. The filmmakers must have been getting a little desperate at that point. I believe this is what's known as "jumping the shark." Or some variation on that phrase involving a "calf." One shudders to think.

Can I give it 6 Stars?.......2005-04-16

The film brings to the screen the story of two cowboys out of New Mexico who come to NY looking for their friend who's gone missing while searching for his daughter.
It is a highly entertaining, action-packed adventure with significant elements of comedy. To a certain extent it brings to mind Next of Kin starring Patrick Swayze.
Woody Harrelson, Kiefer Sutherland, and the rest of the cast have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are exceptional to say the least. All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is AMAZING)!
The plot, the setting, the dialogues, and the music, are all WONDERFUL!
The Cowboy Way is a movie definitely worth watching, and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection!

Average customer rating:

The Watcher [HD DVD]
Starring: Robert Cicchini , Ernie Hudson , Keanu Reeves , James Spader , and Marisa Tomei
Director: Joe Charbanic
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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ASIN: B000OHZL12
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Description

Keanu Reeves ignites this action-packed, "superbly crafted thriller that zooms along like a sinister video game of hunter and prey!" (Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper and the Movies) After years of pursuing psychotic killers in Los Angeles, FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) wants out. And now his nemesis, serial killer David Allen Griffin (Reeves), has tracked him all the way to Chicago just to torment him. Before each murder, Griffin sends Campbell a photograph of his intended victim and dares him to find her before he strikes again. Now, with every tick of the clock, and amidst pulse-pounding action, this stone-cold killer turns up the heat. Co-starring Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei, this game of cat and mouse will have you gasping for breath from its first terrifying frame until its final explosive conclusion!

Average customer rating:

Very well executed thriller that will leave you very satisfied...
Great Suspense Film
Better Money spent on the ice cream man
Red Eye
Should have been better

Red Eye (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Tina Anderson , Brian Cox , Carl Gilliard , Mary Kathleen Gordon , and Laura Johnson
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Island

ASIN: B000BVM1S2
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Amazon.com

Veteran horror director Wes Craven lends his proven talent to the non-horror thriller Red-Eye, turning it into an above-average potboiler that makes the most of its 85 tension-packed minutes. That's a perfect running time for a movie like this, in which a resourceful heroine Lisa (Rachel McAdams, the breakout star of 2005) is trapped on a red-eye flight with creepy villain Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy, even more menacing than he was as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins) who's playing middle-man in the plot to assassinate a Homeland Security official. He's got her father pinned down by a would-be killer, using that advantage to coerce Lisa into phoning the luxury resort where she works and arranging to move the target into a pre-set position. It's a situation from which there is seemingly no escape, but of course Craven and screenwriter Carl Ellsworth find a way to milk the suspenseful dilemma for all it's worth, even managing to wedge in a few intriguing character details to enhance the fast-moving plot. It's still a B-movie, but it's tightly constructed and well-executed by Craven, whose previous films made him a perfect choice to maximize all that Red-Eye has to offer. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Very well executed thriller that will leave you very satisfied..........2007-07-06

`Red Eye' was a real surprise for me. It's one of those thrillers that keeps you tense until the very end and even manages to live up to the task again upon repeat viewings. I think the short run time really helps this movie for it never lags long enough for you to forget why your frightened or lose interest in what your about to see. The movie spends a few minutes in the beginning establishing our heroine Lisa, giving her a personality, a career and a dilemma. We are also introduced to Jackson Rippner, a mysterious man who charms her, buys her a drink and then coincidentally lands himself next to her on the plane. He's affectionate, compassionate and has the odd good looks of a man who knows he can woo any woman he desires. This takes all but a few minutes, but their minutes well spent.

Soon after the plane is off the runway though, Jackson's charm fades away and his true intentions are made manifest. He's here to persuade Lisa to make a phone call, a life altering phone call into the hotel where she works, having a very important man moved into a room that will ultimately cost him his life. If she refuses to play along her dear old dad will be murdered. Lisa seems to have no choice, but she's a strong willed woman, and a smart one at that, and so you know she finds a way out. The section of the film taking place aboard the plane is nicely paced and edited well, adding layers of claustrophobia to the already tense atmosphere, and once they leave the airport and make their way to Lisa's home things get even more intense and Jackson becomes even more tyrannical.

The script is tight and enjoyable, intense and smart and the direction is great at the hands of Wes Craven considering that he's had a long line of flops recently. It's the chemistry between the two leads though that really makes this movie as great as it is. Rachel McAdams actually delivers a well thought out and mature performance here. She's never out of her league, never out of her comfort zone. She's completely authentic and a natural talent. Cillian Murphy is even better. He's proven that he can play the villainous character before but here he ups the ante and delivers a stone cold killer in every sense of the word. Props to Carl Ellsworth for writing a superb script, and to everyone involved for making `Red Eye' one of the better suspense thrillers to hit the big screen in a long time.

Great Suspense Film.......2007-06-20

Red Eye is one of my favorite films, truly something you can watch over and over again. Very original, kudos to Wes Craven. After seeing this film, combined with her other work, Rachel mcAdams has become one of my favorite actresses.

Better Money spent on the ice cream man.......2007-06-19

It's summer, well almost, so instead of shelling out a few hard earned dollars for this atrocious film, get an ice cream cone and enjoy it, as you will tremendously more than this B-Movie thriller. I remember seeing Blockbuster littered with the Red Eye boxes when it first came out. I mean it was a pluthera all over the place, you couldn't escape the jaded hand image on the box, it would like follow your every look around the store. I should have rented it instead of purchasing it, a fool and his money should never have been brought together from jumpstreet.

Brian Cox is always a delight. I do follow his work, and he was superb in Running with Scissors and L.I.E., however he is very bland and boring in his role as Rachel's father. In fact in the scenes near the end when she plows her car through the front door area (go ahead and recall it), I almost for a minute, thought he was in on it. It seemed like his role in this was just a leasurily stroll through Central during an idle Sunday.

Wes Craven, I am sure, has some die hard followers, and even if the film sinks lower than that vile nastiness in between the rails at the 42nd street NR stop, they will hail his work as a Modern Marvel.

Clearly not the case with Red Eye. It is suppoosed to be a thriller and I would assume sort of scary, edge of your seat kind of stuff. No? Believe me, its not scary, its not suspensful, and they do not make it believable in the least. I watched it with my mother, who I bring over a flick for once in awhile, and although she was losing interest after the first 40 minutes or so, I really tried to get into it. Sadly I could not. It was "NOT" a good suspense thriller. It was an "alright" suspense/thriller. It had it's moments, the lipstick on the bathroom mirror was very predictable, albeit decent. Everything else seemed rushed, unrehearsed and generic. I mean the girl is crying and in desperation and hysterics almost and people are RIGHT UP CLOSE NEXT TO THEM in those non roomy airline seats, and no one catches an eyesoar or in earshot of whats going on. Poorly crafted.

The biggest criticism of all, is the very key, important dialouge which brings about the films energy when Cilian Murphy tells Rachel who he really is and what he needs her to do. It was just not belivable to this reviewer. In fact, in acting classes as an older teenager in Manhattan, there were more emotions and responses from tense scenes in our Improv class, than these two really had in their on screen chemistry, which was not that Four or Five star.

Brian Cox was bland, Wes Craven is just bored and throws out his acerebral films every once in a while to let us know he isn't buried six feet under yet, which, by all relative standards, is where this film deserves to be placed.

Not worth a bite, so dig into your snowcone.

Red Eye.......2007-06-17

Definitely an awesome movie. I would recommend it to any and everyone!

Should have been better.......2007-06-04

If the lead villian didn't look like Jackson Brown, this may have been more realiatic. In the chase scenes, I kept asking myself "Who would be afraid of this guy?" He looks like a total wuss. This guy would be better of playing a part where he is tring to get revenge from the people who stole his lunch money in middle school, because that is about how believable he looks.
The film overall was not bad. One may have wished for a better ending, but that seems like the trend for movies from this era

Average customer rating:

Great Price,Same Quality.
More than expected.
Humor has staying power. Suitable for more than just kids.
Baby Bink is a cute baby
Love it

Baby's Day Out
Starring: Joe Mantegna , Lara Flynn Boyle , Joe Pantoliano , Brian Haley , and Cynthia Nixon
Director: Patrick Read Johnson
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Baby Geniuses

ASIN: B00005RT3K
Release Date: 2002-01-29

Amazon.com

Only a mother or a certified baby-phile could love this John Hughes comedy (he wrote and coproduced it). Aside from that endorsement, the diaper starts to stink. Baby Bink is kidnapped by three inept crooks, but the child escapes from their hideaway, leading to a chase through the city. Bink's journey follows the story line of his favorite bedtime book, Baby's Day Out, and he goes to a zoo, a construction site, and a retirement center. Hughes is following his accountant's favorite bedtime tale, "Let's rewrite Home Alone again," but with very little of the humor or impact of that smash. A number of scenes center on the crushing or incineration of Joe Mantegna's groin, not exactly family-fare yuks. There are some moments of levity with the crooks and a gorilla. --Keith Simanton

Description

Baby Bink is out on the town for the day, visiting wondrous places and seeing fantastic sights. The only problem is, he is traveling alone! Frantically hunted by his mother and turned into a celebrity by the media, Baby Bink stays one step ahead of a trio of bumbling con artists eager to collect the reward money being offered by his wealthy parents.

Customer Reviews:

Great Price,Same Quality........2007-04-03

The price was better than in store prices with the same great quality.

More than expected........2007-03-01

Our 4 year old LOVES this movie, and it's fun to watch with her. It's a laugh-out-loud romp and with an easy to understand plot for young children. Highly recommend for family entertainment.

Humor has staying power. Suitable for more than just kids. .......2006-12-29

Why should kids have all the fun? This movie is hilarious, even after several viewings. It's a film that can be enjoyed by the whole family, from youngest to oldest. It's like Jumanji in that it keeps you wondering what over-the-top circumstance is coming next. No heavy social commentary here, only lighthearted fun. The comic timing of the actors is wonderful, and the child handlers deliver a portrayal of Baby Bink that is expressive and on target. Definitely worth the space in a home video/DVD library.

Baby Bink is a cute baby.......2006-11-03

I thought this was such a great movie. It could not happen in real life, but who cares. It is funny the way the baby out witts three bad guys. The baby follows stuff in her favirote book. it is highly recomended for anyone who loves babies. (Most everybody does) It is a neat,excellent, wonderful, great,good,fantastic,delightful. What more could I say about such a good movie.Watch it!

Love it.......2006-10-12

HAHA I remember watching this endlessly when I was younger! I truly love this movie; the baby is adorable, the villains are hilarious, the situations are crazy. It's just funny xD

The story is... Baby Bink is to have his picture taken but his mother feels her baby's picture needs to be in the paper so she hires the Downtown Baby Photographers. Of course the three stooges can't resist a ransom opportunity from the rich, rich, rich family so they go to the baby's house in disguise and kidnap the child. The whole thing takes off from there when the guys can't seem to keep an eye on the little baby. Well first we must understand that the baby has a favorite book he calls "Boo Boo" in which a baby goes about in the big city. So the whole movie is Baby Bink acting out the book by going to every spot that the baby in the book goes to. It's a cool movie and it actually looks like the baby is dodging cars on the road, climbing fire escapes of buildings, and being carried high into the air while in a construction site. Oh and I'm IN LOVE with the opening song

Buy this, it's great for the whole family to watch

Average customer rating:

One of Van Damme's Worst Movies
Van Damme's best film
Excellent
Boy, Van Damme sure likes to get hit in the face.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE ?

The Quest
Starring: Aki Aleong , César Carneiro , Chang Ching Peng Chaplin , Ryan Cutrona , and Janet Gunn
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Lionheart
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Death Warrant

ASIN: 0783226748
Release Date: 1998-04-29

Customer Reviews:

One of Van Damme's Worst Movies.......2007-04-05

The Quest was one of the movies that began the descent of Jean-Claude Van Damme from a major motion picture star into a straight-to-video movie star, which still is better than most actors accomplish, but far from the level that Van Damme achieved at the height of his success.

The Quest is a poor ripoff of Bloodsport and Kickboxer about a martial arts tournament with Roger Moore thrown in for comic relief. While there are some good fight scenes, they don't make this film worth watching or buying. Fortunately, Jean-Claude made many more that are worth watching.

Van Damme's best film.......2007-02-08

I think this is JCVD's best movie. He directed it too. The story is set on Thailand (nice settings, nice photography) and for some reason, our hero is forced to play in a tournament in the foothills of the Himalayas with a number of fighters from other regions of the world. The first part of the movie is a classic adventure yarn, with the Van Damme character traveling to the tournament in the Himalayas. The second part is the tournament itself. I'm not saying the film doesn't have silly moments (like the presentation of the fighters from the different countries in the tournament), but the silliness is part of the fun this movie is.

Excellent.......2006-11-10

This product was brand new like you always say and the picture and image quality was clear and easy to understand. Thanks for a job well done and I look forward to do more business with you now and in the future. Once again, thanks for a job well done and keep up the good work.

Boy, Van Damme sure likes to get hit in the face. .......2006-09-10

In Jean Claude Van Damme's oeuvre, Nowhere to Run, Hard Target, and Timecop are the cream, while suckfests like Sudden Death, The Order, and Derailed won't even draw flies. The Quest falls somewhere just below the best of Van Damme's films. Having just recently seen Tony Jaa in action, Van Damme's martial arts stylistics pale considerably in comparison. Still, The Quest, coming out about a decade before Jaa's films, showcases some nice, energetic martial arts sequences. And it was cool that every country was represented by its own distinctive fighting style (savate for France, sumo for Japan, snake/monkey/tiger style for China, capoeira for Brazil, nut-twisting for Turkey, and, er, boxing for the U.S.).

In 1925, top fighters representing various countries are invited to the Lost City to participate in Ghang-gheng, a martial arts tournament of the world's best fighters, the prize of which is a dragon statue made of gold. Meanwhile, in New York, Chris Dubois (Jean Claude Van Damme) tries to fend for several street urchins under his care while evading the police and a gang leader who wants Dubois to work for him. When a chain of events leads to Dubois being wanted for murder, he jumps onboard a smuggler's ship, where he is taken prisoner by the ship's crew and is forced to slave labor. When he is rescued by the roguish Lord Edgar Dobbs (Roger Moore) and his buccaneers, Dubois journeys with him to Muay Thai Island, where Dobbs sells him to Khao (Aki Aleong), an elder of the Muay Thai martial arts.

Six months later, Lord Dobbs is gallivanting about in Bangkok. He goes to a dive to watch a kickboxing match and is shocked to see that one of the competitors is Dubois. Later, Dubois corrals him and demands that he help him get to the Lost City, where the Ghang-gheng tournament will take place. Dobbs, being a greedy bastard, instantly agrees. The rest of the film pretty much spirals down into the formulaic, centering on match after match after match...This time, Van Damme's tournament nemesis is an arrogant Mongolian giant, who may not be steeped in martial arts but is incredibly strong, cruel, and destructive.

Van Damme not only stars in this one, but also takes a decent turn behind the director's chair. He knows when there are better actors around (which is pretty much when he's not alone), and he wisely leaves the emoting to veteran actors Roger Moore and James Remar, who make the best of their limited roles. The debonair Moore is fun to watch as he toils away in his post-James Bond days, while Remar plays it straight-forward as the straight-shooting heavyweight boxing champ and Dubois's mentor. Van Damme himself is his reliably stoic, one-note self, ever fruitlessly plumbing the shallows of his acting talent. The other semi-decent actor in here is Janet Gunn as journalist Carrie Newton and token cute chick. She even seems mildly interested in being in the film, an attitude worthy of several kudos. The rest of the cast are negligible and stereotypical, and I doubt most of them are even actors.

The Quest is certainly hackneyed movie-making and borders on camp. It's your basic B-movie, martial arts cheesefest. And if you go into this chop-socky bearing that in mind, you'll have fun. Because, while it is derivative, it's also quite entertaining. And it's always nice to again see Van Damme's helicopter kick. The best part of the movie, by the way, is the match between the acrobatic Brazilian and the equally-acrobatic, style-changing Chinese. Anyway, enjoy the movie. Or not.

By the way, does anyone know where that bump on Van Damme's forehead came from?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE ?.......2006-06-09

This is the best Van Damme film ever (minus the Van Damme as the leader of a group of street children ... too Mickael Jackson)

Anyway , this film has great acting (even for Van Damme) a great storie , great cast (Roger Moore was the high light of the film) , and the fighting was neat because you get to see many of the world's fighting style's and style of fighters (this should have had a video game)

I have to gave it a 5 star rating because it's that good and some one should have !

Average customer rating:

A long sad story
a fair look at the founding of israel
So-so documentary
The Untold Story of Jewish People 1945-48
Highly recommended

The Long Way Home
Starring: Morgan Freeman , Edward Asner , Sean Astin , Martin Landau , and Miriam Margolyes
Director: Mark Jonathan Harris
Manufacturer: KOCH LORBER FILMS
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0000AOV6R
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Amazon.com

As Allied troops liberated Nazi concentration camps in the final weeks of World War II, the trials of the Jews in Europe were hardly over. The end of the war brought extreme deprivation and even, in some places, further violence directed against survivors of the Holocaust. This documentary tells the story of the struggle European Jews faced in trying to reach Palestine, which they hoped would become the new Jewish homeland. Archival footage documents how Jews literally walked across snow-clogged mountain passes to reach the Mediterranean. In Italian ports they boarded overcrowded freighters and tried to slip past the blockage of Palestine, which was then controlled by Britain. The physical hardships were only part of the problem, and The Long Way Home does a fine job of describing the complicated political dealings that involved the United Nations, the U.S. administration of Harry Truman, and, of course, the Arab states that were hostile to the very idea of the country of Israel. Drawing on letters, diaries, and oral histories of participants, as well as interviews with Holocaust survivors and those who volunteered to help the fledgling Zionist state, an inspiring human story of courage and fortitude emerges in the course of this moving and fascinating film. --Robert J. McNamara

Description

This Academy Award winning documentary explores the critical post World War II period from 1945 - 1948 and the plight of tens of thousands of refugees who survived the Nazi Holocaust and their often-illegal attempts to get to the Jewsih homeland. It explores how the world turned its back on these forgotten people and the world events that led to the creation of the State of Israel. The Long Way Home is narrated by Morgan Freeman and features the voices of Edward Asner, Sean Astin, Martin Landau, Miriam Margoyles, David Paymer and Nina Siemaszko.

Customer Reviews:

A long sad story.......2006-08-19

A good documentary on the period between the end of WWII and the formation of the tiny nation of Israel. No need to see feature films for drama, it is all here.

I tend to think that once WWII ended then all was well with the Jews and the other displaced persons in Europe. But that is far from the truth as this movie will show.

There is some great footage of the Exodus.

This movie is required viewing for my children of 12 and up.

a fair look at the founding of israel.......2006-06-04

ah yes, once more a holocaust movie, this one using the darkest moment of 20th century history to justify the establishment of the modern state of israel. i will not go into the politics here, but merely rate the movie as a piece of art, by which definition it was good.

So-so documentary.......2006-04-06

A grave documentary of the struggles of European Jews liberated from Nazi encampment to survive the isolationist aftermath of World War II. While the Allied nations strengthened their immigration laws and the survivors' formerly occupied homelands still bore the taint of anti-Semitism, the Jews were forced to live as refugees until founding the nation of Israel three years after the end of the war. I prefer movies such as Schindler's List and Anne Frank to this.

The Untold Story of Jewish People 1945-48.......2006-02-21

There is very little public knowledge of what happened between the time when the German concentration camps were liberated in 1945 and when Israel was founded. The story is told in this very well done and interesting documentary.

First, many of the survivors were kept in the same camps under armed guard by Allied soldiers. Reports got back to President Truman about the conditions, and he sent an envoy to find out what was happening. The envoy reported about back the horrible conditions, and as a result, Eisenhower was pressured to fire Patton, who had responsibility for the camps. The movie then quotes Patton's private diary, which shows that he was an extreme racist against the Jews.

Many people survived the camps initially, but died in the next month because of disease or over-eating.

Then some Jewish survivors tried to return to their hometowns in Poland and elsewhere. Many survivors were murdered by local people. In some cases, new families had moved into their homes, and didn't want the refugees reclaiming them. (Most Jews in the concentration camps were not actually from Germany, but were from countries that the Germans had control over.)

The Jewish survivors then tried to reach Palestine/Israel. The British refused to let them. The movie said part of the reason was that the British needed Arab oil.

Many survivors climbed over the Alps on foot to try to reach Israel through Italy. A group of American Jews purchased and manned ships to try to sneak the survivors into Israel. Almost all were intercepted by the British and turned back. The most famous ship was the Exodus, which was the subject of a famous book and movie. The British actually fired upon the refugee ship and killed many people. The British kept many of the refugees in concentration camps in horrid crowded conditions.

Jewish groups then turned to terrorism to try to force the British out of Palestine. It worked, and the British left. The British turned the matter over to the UN, who tried to partition Palestine. That led to the founding of Israel. The movie said that a main reason why Israel was successful was because Truman officially recognized the new country instantly, against the advice of all of his advisors. (Throughout the entire 1940s, the US State Dept. was very anti-Semitic.)

For those people with a weak stomach (including myself), it is important to know that the movie is not overly graphic and, on the whole, is not depressing. It is intended to tell the story of people who struggled and succeeded against all odds.

Highly recommended.......2005-09-23

This two-hour Oscar-winning documentary does a great job at narrating the events of 1945-48 for the survivors of the Shoah and their often horrific ordeal as refugees. For most of them, the heartache was only just beginning; liberation and the end of the War for them were not the same as they were for the soldiers who had fought in the War or the non-Jewish people who had been in the camps or in the various nation-states across Europe. Many of them found they had no home to go back to, and were often greeted with hatred and disgust that they'd dared to return and survive. Some angry villagers even killed the returning survivors, as happened in the Kielce pogrom of 1946. During and before WWII, most of the nations in the world had sealed their borders against the people trying to immigrate before the Nazis devoured them, and even after the War finally ended, they continued keeping them out. Even nations that hadn't been able to wait to get rid of them, such as Poland and Hungary, now made it very difficult for the "repatriated" survivors to leave, and many of them had to be smuggled out in very secretive dangerous border crossings, with border guards who had to be bribed heavily. The initial destination for many of them was a DP camp. Many of these camps were in Germany, and were in the very sites of actual concentration-camps. The Americans running them insisted barbed wire be strung along the fences and that armed guards be in watch towers. There also often wasn't enough to eat, there was little privacy, and the people still had to sleep on the wooden planks. The only difference between life in a DP camp and life in a concentration-camp was that in the DP camps the Allies running them weren't exterminating people or physically abusing them. And yet in spite of all of this, the amount of marriages and children being born were totally off of the charts, people finding one another and recreating families, getting together out of loneliness, these people who never would have found one another or considered getting married under such circumstances, after such short courtships, were it not for the Shoah.

97% of the survivors wanted to go to Israel, and when asked for a second destination, hundreds wrote "The crematorium" on their applications. Many survivors did go to other places, such as Australia, America (which was still holding to its pre-war racist xenophobia immigration quotas, coupled with millions of citizens who didn't want any immigrants either), Canada, and South America. But for the majority, Israel was the only place they could envision themselves being. The British too were keeping the survivors out of Israel, and only six ships managed to elude being captured. The rest were pirated, many of the people on board severely abused, and sent to concentration-camps on Cyprus. And yet these people still kept hoping for the day when they would be released and would finally live as free people again, in their own land. Some of them even admitted they were only surviving and getting through these postwar years so their children would have a future. The world closed its doors and its eyes and ears while millions of people were slaughtered and barely changed its tune after the War, but as these people proved on their long road home, they were strong enough to survive another round of hardships and never gave up on their dream of going home.

The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark)

Average customer rating:

The Val Lewton Horror Collection
The Val Lewton Horror Collection
Quintessential Lewton...
Elegant horror
Note recycled Lewton props.

The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark)
Starring: Simone Simon , Kent Smith , Tom Conway , Jane Randolph , and Jack Holt
Director: Jacques Tourneur , Robert Wise , and Gunther von Fritsch
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

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( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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The Innocents

ASIN: B000A0GOEQ
Release Date: 2005-10-04

Amazon.com

Val Lewton's name is synonymous with the subtlest, most mysterious brand of horror filmmaking in Hollywood's golden age, and the nine horror classics he produced at RKO between 1942 and 1946 constitute the most remarkable cycle of creativity in B-movie history. (For the record, the Lewton/RKO legacy also includes two non-horror entries, Youth Runs Wild and Mademoiselle Fifi.)

Before becoming a film producer, the Russian-born Lewton was a prolific writer of pulp fiction, nonfiction, and a couple of pornographic novels. He also worked for years as assistant to David O. Selznick, a legendary producer with a distinctive personal signature--and a flair for grandiosity Lewton himself never emulated. It's ever so revealing that, on Selznick's Gone With the Wind, it was Lewton who came up with the idea for the famous rising shot of the Atlanta railyard filled with Southern wounded, with the Confederate flag streaming above--only he idly proposed it as a joke, never imagining that anyone would actually film such a spectacularly ambitious scene.

In 1942 Lewton left Selznick to undertake a series of horror films for RKO Radio Pictures. The studio would give him a budget around $200,000 per picture and a title RKO deemed to be grabby; Lewton would have a free hand as long as he stayed on budget, used the title, and gave the studio a salable movie of second-feature length (around 70 minutes). Over time, Lewton would increasingly have trouble with studio supervisors, but RKO was the right place for him. Although low in the pecking order among Hollywood majors, the studio made up for its lack of MGM-style glamour and Warner Bros. grit-and-gusto by working in a finely filigreed, almost miniaturist style. The art department under Van Nest Polglase and Albert S. D'Agostino was capable of exquisite artisanry, and in Nicholas Musuraca, a master of low-key cinematography and supple camerawork, Lewton found an invaluable collaborator in creating moody shadow-worlds where what you couldn't see was more disquieting than what you could.

He was also fortunate in having Jacques Tourneur to direct his first three efforts (they had teamed years earlier on the Bastille-storming sequence for Selznick's A Tale of Two Cities). They scored first time out of the gate with both a popular hit and a masterpiece: Cat People (1942). The story involves a pretty young Serbian woman in Manhattan (Simone Simon) convinced that her ancestors had practiced animal worship during the Middle Ages--and that she herself might shape-change into a lithe, ravening panther if her passions were aroused. The film is uncannily successful in keeping the viewer guessing whether this is a phobia borne of morbid obsession and sexual repression, or a genuine, horrific possibility. There are two sequences of matchless artistry and almost unbearable suspense--a lonely, echoing walk through pools of lamplight alongside Central Park, and a late-night swim in a deserted indoor pool--that build to throat-grabbing climaxes and remain milestones in the history of screen horror.

Many critics feel that the second Lewton-Tourneur endeavor, I Walked With a Zombie (1943), is both men's finest work. The title is so lurid that the heroine-narrator (Frances Dee) must shrug it off with her very first words, yet the movie is an amazingly delicate and poetic piece of spellbinding--nothing less than a reworking of Jane Eyre on a voodoo island in the Caribbean. Other horror aficionados prefer the more mainline ferocity of The Leopard Man (1943), an adaptation of a Cornell Woolrich story about a serial killer strewing corpses along the U.S.-Mexican border. Although on one level this is the Lewton film that veers closest to conventional mystery-suspense, there's no end of unsettling ambiguity (another black panther on the loose!) and hints of occultism and religious mania.

RKO promoted Tourneur to A-movies after this; Lewton would never again have so masterly a directorial partner. Yet in a weird sense (which is only appropriate), this underscores how much Lewton--with his wealth of arcane historical lore and storytelling archetypes, his quiet, patient attention to detail, and his taste for oblique narrative--was the essential auteur of all his films. Promoting first Mark Robson and then Robert Wise from the editing table, Lewton went on to make the deeply mysterious The Seventh Victim (1943) and The Ghost Ship (1943), two films in which such grotesque elements as Satan worship and murderous psychopathology are folded away inside eerily drifty, almost becalmed sleepwalks into eternal night. The Seventh Victim--a movie populated with more walking dead than Lewton's out-and-out zombie picture--is one of the cinema's supreme meditations on the ways lives brush against one another in the spaces of a great, impersonal city. And The Ghost Ship (the rarest of Lewton's films, owing to a ruinous copyright suit) is like a fever dream from which the viewer never awakens.

That's enough for a legacy, surely. Yet there remain The Curse of the Cat People (1944), a sequel that is not quite a sequel, a pretend-horror movie that's really a contemplation of the fragility of childhood; Isle of the Dead (1945), a doomed reverie about travelers who escape the Goya-esque chaos of a 19th-century war only to be beset with plague on a miasma-shrouded island; The Body Snatcher (1945), an atmospheric Robert Louis Stevenson adaptation that invokes the grisly history of graverobbers Burke and Hare, and supplies a together-again-for-the-last-time occasion for Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi; and Bedlam (1946), the Hogarth painting come to life to portray the real-life horrors of an 18th-century insane asylum. Bedlam's critical and box-office failure ended Lewton's quasi-independent status at RKO; he would live to make only three other, unsuccessful films.

James Agee, the premier American film critic of the 1940s, reckoned that Val Lewton was one of the three foremost creative figures in Hollywood--an assessment yet more impressive when we consider that the other two were Charles Chaplin and Walt Disney. His greatest films--Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Seventh Victim--are towering achievements, and even his half-realized projects are haunting experiences, the products of an utterly distinctive sensibility. This is an extraordinary collection. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

Val Lewton, a famous RKO Radio Pictures producer, redefined the horror genre with low-budget, high-box office films. Now available are nine of these horror classics on DVD in the all new Val Lewton Horror Collection. Exclusive to the collection are a new documentary on the producer and 3 of the 9 films.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Greg Mank with Simone Simon on Cat People and Curse of the Cat People, Kim Newman and Steve Jones on I Walked With a Zombie, Steve Haberman with Robert Wise on The Body Snatcher, Tom Weaver on Bedlam, and Steve Haberman on The Seventh Victim.
Documentaries:Shadows In The Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

The Val Lewton Horror Collection.......2007-06-25

-------------------------------------------------------------
"Cat People"
What you can't see "will" hurt you

A man marries a strange woman with a European accent. She seems shy, but she actually carries a secret. Seems she knows she came from a line of "Cat People" and passion can bring out her claws. This is reinforced in a scene at a restaurant where another one of her kind recognizes her. She also suspects her new hubby's female friend has designs on him. So we get a spooky scene at a swimming pool at night alone in the gym.

There was not enough money or sufficient technology to show scary cat people. They tried people in cat suits, but they just looked cutesy. So they decided to just show shadows and sounds. The rest was up to your imagination. It is a psychological movie with a touch of film noir. ---------------------------------------------
"The Curse of the Cat People"
In many ways superior to the original

The Curse of the Cat People (1944) is not really sequel to Cat People (1942) as much as a stand alone physiological thriller that just happens to be an extension of the original characters. We have seen the formula before but you may not have seen such a presentation; a lonely child Amy Reed (Ann Carter) seeks a playmate that understands her. Who best but the spirit of Oliver's dead wife, Irena (Simone Simon) one of the cat people. Naturally this upsets the parents. Toss in Amy's new relation to reclusive neighbor Julia Farren (Julia Dean). Julia has problems of her own relating to her daughter. The story just gets complex from there.

The question is, is it dangerous to fantasize that much and what will become of the characters in the end.
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"I Walked with a Zombie"
A classic Val Lewton production

We are treated to exotic titles and expectations with titles such as "I walked With a Zombie." My only encounters with Zombies are those that process in an UNIX operating system that can not be killed. I also watched "Weekend at Bernie's II."

As with other Lewton productions he got a way with a psychological thriller in the guise of a monster movie. In the days of sailing ships a nurse (Frances Dee) is employed to go to San Sebastian to look after a plantation owner's wife (Christine Gordon.) She fined that her charge is more than just a victim of a disease that heft her without will. Turns out if you cut the wife she does not bleed. We all know what that means.

The true story is the relationship to man and wife, man and nurse, nurse and wife, brother and brother, brother and wife, need I say more? Could it mean that there is nothing supernatural or is love moving in mysterious natural.

Can this all be straightened out or is Jessica Holland the wife destined to be zomiated for ever and the nurse must learn to love from afar?

Yeah Lord pity them who are dead and give peace and happiness to the living.
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"The Body Snatcher"
Based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson

"It is through error that a man tries and rises. It is through tragedy he learns. All the roads of learning begin in darkness and go out into the light." Hippocrates of Gos

This film has the psychological complexity of a Val Lewton production but is a lot more graphic than most of his productions where he just implies violence. He even takes it out on innocent dogs. I feel that some one was pushing Lewton from behind to be more vicious with this film.

A young student (Russell Wade) wants to become a doctor like the great Dr. Wolfe 'Toddy' MacFarlane (Henry Daniell.) Little does he know what it will entail?

The DVD has a voiceover commentary from the late Director Robert Wise who directed "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music." Surprisingly he said that the original basic script was written by Philip MacDonald.
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"Isle of the Dead"
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE / Hamlet Act 1. Scene V abt. 1601

`Under conquest and oppression the people of Greece allowed their legends to degenerate into superstition; the Goddess Aphrodite giving way to the `Vorvolaka.' This nightmare figure was very much alive in the mines of the peasants when Greece fought the victorious war of 1912."

Gen. Nikolas Pherides (Boris Karloff) is an experienced watcher. That is he must watch over his troops to be sure the do what they are supposed to and survive to win the day.

Finding some time take a war correspondent (Marc Cramer) to visit the grave yard island where his wife is buried. There he meats a strange collection of people and an unseen enemy that is much deadlier than any bullet. Will he be able to fight it logically and scientifically? Or will his cultural fears lead him to see the truth?

Once again we see that Boris Karloff can act and that Val Lewton can take a scary title and turn it from a cheap horror movie into a classic Psychological Thriller.
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"Bedlam"
Story suggested by The William Hogarth painting Bedlam plate 8 "The Rake's Progress

Once again Val Lewton takes what would have been a second rate horror story and turns it into a sit on the edge of your seat psychological thriller. The basic question of the story is the same as the one in his movie "Ghost Ship"; that is, is man fundamentally good and helpful of others or is he so self centered that he will act even to his own ultimate demise? An added element is that of not quite being granted all mental faculties.

The year is 1791 Lord Mortimer (Billy House) is just one of the upper class (Wiggs) that gets his kicks from watching the loonies of Bedlam loon. His protégé (Anna Lee) is discussed at the treatment of the "guests" by the head apothecary, Master George Sims (Boris Karloff who can actually act). She attempts to correct this to the detriment of Lord Mortimer. So Lord Mortimer and Sims invite her as a guest to Bedlam.

Will she ever get out or just go crazy. While there she applies a theory supplied by a Quaker (Richard Fraser), one of the Society of Friends if this works the tables may turn on Sims. What can Sims say in his defense?
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"The Leopard Man"
All or our lives are like the ball bouncing at the top of the fountain

Rival entertainers meet in a club in New Mexico Kiki Walker (Jean Brooks) brings in a leopard to upstage Clo-Clo (Margo). But Clo-Clo gets the last laugh when she chases the leopard off with her castanets.

All is fun rivalry until people start dying. Naturally the local authorities think it is the leopard. But Jerry Manning (Dennis O'Keefe) who rented the leopard has a theory that this is the work of a demented person. This theory is sort of supported by Dr. Galbraith (James Bell) the local museum curator. To make matters worse the leopard's owner, Charlie How-Come (Abner Biberman) does not remember where he was at the time.

As with the cat people it is what you don't see that can harm you. And the simile turning of a card can mark you for death.

You may recognize Dynamite the leopard that was also used in the movie "Cat People".

Produced by Val Lewton (7 May 1904, Yalta, Crimea, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) ) whose story telling device is unique in that this is more of a psychological film that does not focus on any one person as they are all pawns in a much larger story. Some time it verges on the surreal.

Now that you have seen the film read the book "Black Alibi" by Cornell Woolrich.
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"The Ghost Ship"
A new third mate on his first long sea voyage in introduced to captain and crew. Before he steps on bard he is warned by a blond man. He runs into a mute. And before they even leave port Jensen is found dead, just a heat attack. "With his death the waters of the sea are open to us. But there will be other deaths and the agony of dieing."

Don't go looking for anything supernatural as this is a Val Lewton movie. I would pay close attention to the characters. One of them may be a bit unhinged. The big question in this story is man's nature to help or ignore their fellow man.
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"Shadows in the Dark"
This is more of a Val Lewton biography with more emphasis on his producer years.

The Val Lewton Horror Collection.......2007-06-25

While the plots alone are enough to distinguish Lewton's brand of horror from other practitioners--a mysterious Serbian beauty might or might not have the ability to transform herself into a panther in "Cat People," a death-haunted New York woman is pursued by a cabal of satanists in "The Seventh Victim"--these films are also masterpieces of noir atmospherics. Karloff, an intellectual bored by ghoulish makeup, emerged from semi-retirement to make three pictures with Lewton: "Bedlam," "The Body Snatcher," and "The Isle of the Dead," with Bela Lugosi. It was a fruitful relationship. And this omnibus collection amply demonstrates Lewton's pulpy, lurid genius.

Quintessential Lewton..........2006-10-31

I've read the other reviews, and agree with most. Still, my favorite is "Curse of the Cat People". I've always been fascinated by (good) films that see life through the eyes of a child.Next to "To Kill a Mockingbird", I can't think of another film that brought me back to those simple, sweet times that adults just didn't get! (Except for Atticus, of course). I was also annoyed that the collection was in a tall box that would never fit on my shelf; I hate to separate them to fit on my shelf, alphabetically. Lewton had that wonderful idea, realized by Tourneur, with the glorious black & white photography, crisp and clear as a bell, and much appreciated by those of us who love outstanding film-making. I enjoy this collection a lot, but wish I could put it on the shelf with my other "collections", in a nice box.

Elegant horror.......2006-10-30

Steven Spielberg and Brian DePalma should be locked in a closet with a projection screen and forced to watch these films repeatedly until they swear an oath to imitate them. Made on what Tom Cruises' cleaning bill for one day's shoot would be adjusted for 1940 dollars, and infinitely superior to anything they have done. "Curse of the Cat People" and "The Seventh Victim" are largely unknown but the best and most subtle of these works. Less is more, I only wish there were more of them.

Note recycled Lewton props........2006-08-31

Val Lewton's productions have long been treasured by cinematic aestheticians. This accrues not only from his singularly intelligent treatment and subtle presentation of macabre themes, but from his recurring Lewton "stock company" of players. How we Lewton devotees savor the return of Jane Randolph, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Russell Wade, Sir Lancelot, Tom Conway, Ottola Nesmith ! etc. etc.

Less noted perhaps, are the recurring props to be spotted in Lewton films. Thus, Ottola Nesmith's tufted Victorian sofa from "The Leopard Man," later becomes the property of Miss Julia Dean in "Curse of the Cat People." Likewise, Miss Nesmith's daughter in the s